“Journal Editorial Report:” Controversial

The “Journal Editorial Report” on PBS has been enveloped in controversy recently. A May 2 report in the New York Times said Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Tomlinson “encouraged corporation and public broadcasting officials to broadcast ‘The Journal Editorial Report.'” Tomlinson helped get the program on the air “as a way of balancing ‘Now,'” the story added. Tomlinson was “instrumental in lining up $5 million in corporate financing and pressing PBS to distribute it.”“Participants in the show generally conform to conservative orthodoxy in their discussion of public affairs,” a May story on the UPI wire added.The issue has been in the media as recently as Sunday. A Washington Post editorial said “Tomlinson made extensive efforts to develop and promote the conservative ‘Journal Editorial Report,’ featuring Wall Street Journal commentators — despite federal law barring board members from being involved in program development.”